NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I can get behind saying Fuck The Association. Ever had Cherish or Windy stuck in your head?

 

The other important bit of context is that the Fritz Pollard Alliance is pushing a claim that the Colts hiring Jeff Saturday as head coach violates the Rooney rule.

What makes their "inquiry" totally bogus (along with the bullshit whines from Joe Thomas and Bill Cowher for reasons not related to the Rooney rule) is that the Colts have NOT hired Saturday to be their head coach. They appointed him to be the INTERIM coach while they conduct the search for their next head coach. He's just a temp. The Rooney rule does not apply.


If the Colts turn around and name him the permanent coach, then yes, there's a big problem and the FPA and Cowher and Joe Thomas can all blast away for their various reasons - and the FPA would be fully justified in initiating various legal action.

But until then, the FPA doesn't have a horse in this Derby and they know it. (Or at least they should. If they don't, they have forever lost all credibility in hiring matters.) It comes across as a publicity stunt on their part.

 

Apologies to anyone who is suddenly hearing Cherish or Windy mentally.

 

My guess is during the off season they will jump through all the official hoops before they make Saturday the official head coach. Some will cry about it but is it any different than when the raiders hired McDaniels. Everyone knew that was who they were hiring and all other interviews were bogas.

 

You can thank me now or later when it’s still stuck in the middle with

 

My apologies to everyone hearing it physically

 

Yeah, the Raiders seem like they're just wired to self-destruct that way.

I guess we'll have to wait and see on the Colts, but I'm like you in that I don't have much confidence in Jim Irsay. He's likely to have a weird dream and wake up deciding Peyton Manning will be the next head coach.

On the plus side, teams have been far more open to hiring minorities for the GM role in the last few years.

 

Bills plan to fly to Detroit on Saturday afternoon; what if they can’t get to the airport?

The Bills will play their home game in Detroit on Sunday. If they can get there.

One of the strangest aspects of the snowstorm that prompted the NFL to move the game out of Buffalo is that the Bills didn’t get out while they easily could. They instead plan to fly to Detroit on Saturday afternoon.


As noted by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bills strongly believe they’ll be able to fly out of Buffalo. The question becomes getting everyone to the airport.

The team couldn’t practice on Friday because they couldn’t get to the team’s indoor practice facility. If they can’t get everyone to the airport on Saturday, then what?

Same-day travel isn’t ideal, but it has happened. In 2020, the Steelers traveled to Buffalo on Sunday morning for a Sunday night game. In 2012, the Steelers made a same-day trip to and from New Jersey for a game against the Giants, given that local hotels were lodging those affected by a hurricane.

What if the Bills can’t get out on Sunday morning? The game could be delayed from 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, in theory. While it’s not unprecedented for a team to play on Sunday night and then, basically, on Thanksgiving (the Bears did it in 2018), it’s not ideal.

Then again, nothing about this situation is ideal. And it will be far from ideal if, come Saturday, multiple players and/or coaches can’t get to the airport because of the massive amount of now that continues to fall in the area.

Even if they manage to get to Detroit on Saturday, the disruption to the routine resulting from the snowstorm will make it much more difficult for the Bills than if it was a normal week.

PFT

 

Minkah Fitzpatrick off injury report, set to play Sunday



Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is set to be back in the Steelers lineup against the Bengals on Sunday.

Fitzpatrick had an appendectomy after telling the team’s medical staff he wasn’t feeling well during the team’s walkthrough practice last Saturday, but he was a full participant in practice for the second straight day on Friday. He did not receive an injury designation for Sunday’s game, which leaves him on track to play.


“It’s pretty good,” Fitzpatrick said, via the team’s website. “Obviously, you feel it a few days off of surgery, on the table. You feel it. I just want to keep working and when Sunday comes around, we’ll see how I feel.”

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, but he was the only player on the team to receive an injury designation on Friday.

PFT

 

Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season kicked off on Thursday with a win by the Titans and it continues with 12 more games on Sunday, which means that the 24 teams in those games submitted their final injury reports of the week on Friday.

The Cardinals and 49ers play on Monday and their final injury reports will be released on Saturday.


Jets at Patriots

WR Corey Davis (knee) will miss a third straight game for the Jets. DT Sheldon Rankins (elbow) is also out while TE Kenny Yeboah (calf) is listed as doubtful. G Nate Herbig (shin) is listed as questionable. Head coach Robert Saleh indicated T Duane Brown (shoulder) would also be listed as questionable, but he is not on the final report.

The Patriots will be missing DT Christian Barmore (knee) on Sunday and they’ll likely need to call up a replacement for P Jake Bailey (back) after listing him as doubtful. LB Anfernee Jennings (back), WR DeVante Parker (knee), and LB Josh Uche (hamstring) are listed as questionable.

Bears at Falcons

Bears TE Cole Kmet (thigh) is off the injury report, but S Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) and WR N'Keal Harry (illness) won’t play. G Teven Jenkins (hip), DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (knee), and CB Kindle Vildor (ankle) are listed as questionable.

TE Feleipe Franks (calf) is out for the Falcons. S Erik Harris (foot) and CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring) drew questionable designations.

Rams at Saints

Rams QB Matthew Stafford (concussion) is set to return to the lineup. C Brian Allen (thumb) and LB Travin Howard (hip) will miss the game while DT A'Shawn Robinson (illness) and QB John Wolford (neck) are listed as questionable.

Saints DE Cam Jordan (eye) is going to miss a game due to injury for the first time in his career. DE Marcus Davenport (calf), S J.T. Gray (hamstring), T James Hurst (concussion), RB Mark Ingram (knee), CB Marshon Lattimore (abdomen), and LB Pete Werner (ankle) have also been ruled out. G Andrus Peat (triceps) is listed as questionable.

Panthers at Ravens

S Juston Burris (illness, concussion), DT Matt Ioannidis (calf), and QB P.J. Walker (ankle) are out for the Panthers. S Myles Hartsfield (ankle) is listed as doubtful and CB Jaycee Horn (foot) and TE Giovanni Ricci (neck) are considered questionable.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (illness) missed practice Friday and is listed as questionable, but head coach John Harbaugh said he expects Jackson to play. TE Mark Andrews (knee, shoulder) and RB Gus Edwards (hamstring, knee) are also listed as questionable. CB Jalyn Armour-Davis (hip) is listed as doubtful.

Browns vs Bills (in Detroit)

TE David Njoku (ankle) is considered questionable to return to the Browns lineup. S D'Anthony Bell (concussion), G Michael Dunn (back), CB Greg Newsome (concussion), and DT Perrion Winfrey (concussion) have been ruled out.

Bills LB Tremaine Edmunds (groin, heel), WR Jake Kumerow (ankle), and DE Gregory Rousseau (ankle) won’t be playing in Detroit, but QB Josh Allen (elbow) is off the injury report and ready to go. CB Kaiir Elam (ankle), FB Reggie Gilliam (illness), and S Jordan Poyer (elbow) make up Buffalo’s questionable group.

Commanders at Texans

The Commanders are waiting until Saturday to make a call on activating DE Chase Young (knee). They have ruled out LB Cole Holcomb (foot), RB J.D. McKissic (neck), and TE Armani Rogers (knee, ankle). CB Christian Holmes (hamstring), LB David Mayo (hamstring), and RB Jonathan Williams (knee) are deemed questionable to play.

CB Derek Stingley Jr. (hamstring) and LB Neville Hewitt (hamstring) will not play for the Texans. DE Rasheem Green (illness) is listed as questionable.

Eagles at Colts

CB Josh Jobe (hamstring) is the only Eagles player with an injury designation and he’s been ruled out.

T Braden Smith (back) is questionable for the Colts after missing practice Friday. LB Zaire Franklin (illness) and CB Isaiah Rodgers (illness) drew the same designation. DE Kwity Paye (ankle) and TE Jelani Woods (shoulder) will not play.

Lions at Giants

The Lions listed S DeShon Elliott (concussion), C Frank Ragnow (foot), WR Josh Reynolds (back), and LB Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow) as questionable for Sunday. DE Charles Harris (groin) and DE Josh Paschal (knee) were both ruled out.

T Evan Neal (knee) returned to practice this week, but the Giants listed him as doubtful to play. TE Daniel Bellinger (eye) has been ruled out and S Dane Belton (collarbone), G Joshua Ezeudu (neck), WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring), DT Dexter Lawrence (back), and WR Wan'Dale Robinson (hamstring) are listed as questionable.

Raiders at Broncos

WR Davante Adams (abdomen) drew a questionable tag from the Raiders after a week of limited practices. LB Luke Masterson (ribs), T Kolton Miller (shoulder, abdomen), and LB Denzel Perryman (hip, ribs) have also been listed as questionable.

TE Andrew Beck (hamstring), LB Jonas Griffith (ankle), WR K.J. Hamler (hamstring), WR Jerry Jeudy (ankle), and CB K'Waun Williams (wrist, elbow, knee) are all out for the Broncos this weekend. LB Baron Browning (hip), T Tom Compton (back), T Cameron Fleming (quadricep), G Graham Glasgow (shoulder), and WR Kendall Hinton (shoulder) make up the team’s questionable group.

Cowboys at Vikings

P Bryan Anger (illness), LB Anthony Barr (hamstring), DT Quinton Bohanna (illness), CB Anthony Brown (concussion), RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee), and DE DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) are all listed as questionable for the Cowboys.

The Vikings ruled CB Akayleb Evans (concussion) and DT Dalvin Tomlinson (calf) out for Sunday. DE Za'Darius Smith (knee) is listed as questionable.

Bengals at Steelers

Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (hip) will miss his third straight game. S Dax Hill (shoulder) and DT Josh Tupou (calf) are also out this weekend. RB Chris Evans (knee) and CB Tre Flowers (hamstring) are listed as questionable.

Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick (appendix) is set to play after having surgery last Saturday. CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) has been ruled out.

Chiefs at Chargers

Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday night. CB Chris Lammons (concussion) is also out.

The Chargers are hopeful WR Keenan Allen (hamstring) and WR Mike Williams (knee) can return to action after being listed as questionable. K Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) is considered doubtful to play.

 

Kind of hope hope Tomlin sits Fitzpatrick. But if he’s medically cleared then, I guess go get ‘em. I do feel in this instance Fitzpatrick needs to be protected from himself, but I’m by no means a medical expert.

 

I hope he isn’t going to cause himself more harm than it’s worth.

 

You mean like hiring Saturday in the first place??

 

Yup. Though the Colts did have a potential ace up their sleeve in that if Saturday turned out to be a complete muppet, they'd get a great draft pick out of it for their next head coach.
But even that got off to a rough start when the Colts won last week. Indianapolis fell to 15th in the current draft order.

 

Buffalo airport reopens; now the Bills just have to get there



The massive snowstorm in Buffalo has subsided sufficiently to allow the local airport to open. That will allow the Bills to get to Detroit.

The next step will be getting to the airport.


The could be the hard part. Accounts of stuck vehicles are littering Twitter. Tractor trailers are stuck, blocking emergency responders from getting to wherever they need to go.

It’s unclear how it will play out because it’s unprecedented for such a massive snow event to happen in an NFL city at a time when players and coaches need to get from Point A to Point B.

Presumably, the Bills will take to Detroit anyone who can get to the airport today, with efforts continuing to get everyone else to Detroit on Sunday, if necessary.

The show must go on. The show will go on. There’s never been a forfeit in NFL history. Although the league surely won’t want to move Thursday’s Bills-Lions game to Friday or Sunday, shifting the Week 12 game necessarily becomes the break-glass option in the event that the Bills can’t play on Sunday.

PFT

 

Never say never!

 

Bills, fans mobilize to get players to airport

The Bills will be playing tomorrow’s home game in Detroit. If they can get from their homes to Detroit.

“We are doing everything we possibly can to pull this off and get to the airport and get to Detroit this afternoon,” Bills COO Ron Raccuia said, via Tim Graham of TheAthletic.com. “Every aspect of the organization is a part of this effort.”



The effort extends beyond the organization. Via NYup.com, fans are shoveling and blowing snow at players’ homes.

Many would say the Bills shouldn’t be cutting it so close. As to the criticism that the Bills should have left earlier, Raccuia said that the game wasn’t moved until Thursday afternoon, and that arranging for a charter flight and a flight crew and accommodations wasn’t logistically possible.

Still, they could have started making contingency plans the moment the forecast suggested a potential problem. As early as Tuesday, everyone knew what was coming.

Four days later, it’s still not 100 percent clear that all of the Bills will be going to Detroit to face the Browns. Presumably, they’ll get it done.

PFT

 

My question is how are they going to move all the equipment? Helmuts, unis, etc. That was all at the stadium. Get it to the airport somehow? They can't truck out to Detroit.

 

I'll believe it when they actually play the game.

 

Bills Mafia can exhale.

Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, all Bills players have made it to the team facility. Next, they’ll go to the airport for a 4:00 p.m. ET flight to Detroit.



A massive snowstorm prompted the league to move the Browns-Bills game from Buffalo to Detroit. The Bills play the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving.

There was concern, given the magnitude of the snowfall, that some possibly wouldn’t make to the team facility or to the airport. Even though it worked out, it was an upside down week for the Bills, including no practice on Friday because the players and coaches couldn’t get to the indoor practice facility.

PFT